Malloy: Set Priorities, Invest In Future

Budget Speech

Stephen Dunn, Hartford Courant

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy acknowleges the crowd after delivering his budget address Feb. 6 at a joint session in the hall of the House. At left is his wife, Cathy, and at center is House Speaker Brendan Sharkey.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy acknowleges the crowd after delivering his budget address Feb. 6 at a joint session in the hall of the House. At left is his wife, Cathy, and at center is House Speaker Brendan Sharkey. (Stephen Dunn, Hartford Courant)

Every budget is about setting priorities. That's true for every family in Connecticut, especially during tough economic times. It is equally true for state government.

This week, I hosted the first of a series of community forums around the state to talk about the choices we face. I've done more than 30 of these town hall events since taking office. They aren't always easy, but they are the most important conversations that I have — not just because they give me a chance to talk directly about my priorities, but because they present the best opportunity for me to listen directly to the concerns of my fellow Connecticut residents.

Based on what I heard in Middletown, it is clearer to me than ever that many people share some simple, common-sense perspectives on what our state needs.

For instance, after the worst recession since the Great Depression, and with a national economy that continues to grow too slowly, Connecticut's middle class doesn't need any more burdens. The middle class needs some breaks.

That's why my budget contains no new taxes and puts us on a path to reinstating the sales tax exemption on clothing valued under $50. And that's why my budget would do away with the single most burdensome, most regressive and most unfair tax in our state — the car tax.

Many people worry that eliminating the car tax will only lead to an offsetting increase in property taxes on homes. I understand that concern, but I believe strongly that getting rid of the car tax is a good deal for Connecticut's middle class. In fact, it's going to save middle- and working-class people money.

According to my Office of Policy and Management, the average homeowner in Middletown who owns two cars would see net savings of more than $400 if we eliminate the car tax. Even those who own more expensive cars and homes will save money.

These are real savings at a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet. There's a reason that no other state taxes cars the way we do.

Many residents also made it clear that public education, particularly early childhood education, has to be a priority. They're right.

Connecticut used to be a national leader in public education. Today, we have the largest achievement gap in the country. That means that our top schools are still doing exemplary work. But our struggling schools are as bad as anywhere else in America.

That has to change. And under my budget proposal, it will.

I've proposed $1.8 billion in cuts from the same services budget. But I didn't cut education — I prioritized it by proposing an additional $152 million for our schools. Indeed, since becoming governor, I have increased education funding annually, adding nearly half a billion dollars to support local education.

It's not just struggling schools that will benefit. New reforms, combined with the 1,000 new early childhood education slots we put in place last year and continue to fund, are already working to give every child at every school a better chance at lifelong success.

In Middletown, we also talked about one of the top priorities of my administration — job creation. Since taking office, we have executed an aggressive strategy to make Connecticut a competitive place to do business. And we are seeing success. The First Five program, combined with the deal to bring Jackson Laboratories to the state, has leveraged more than $2 billion in private money.

These successes will create thousands of jobs in our state, jobs in construction, jobs in growth industries like bioscience and digital media, jobs that will allow our state to compete throughout the 21st century.

I've served in public life for a long time. I know that universal agreement is not realistic. But I also believe that if we keep talking, maybe we can agree on the basic choices we need to make. With compassion, with openness to dialogue and compromise, we can agree on the priorities that will move Connecticut forward.

That's what I've tried to accomplish as governor, and why I think public forums like the one in Middletown are so important. And when you look at the divisiveness and gridlock that's grinding Washington to a halt, it is clear that there is no alternative.

Whether the issue is gun violence prevention, better public education or doing away with decades-old taxes that no longer make sense, I believe most of us want the same things, even if we disagree on how best to get there. Because we all love our state. And we all know that, to keep Connecticut moving forward, we have to set clear priorities — even when it means making tough choices.

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